Friday, August 25, 2006

Faith

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

I do not think that Faith is always getting what we want, that if we believe enough in things we don't have they will magically appear in front of us. I think Faith is trusting God even when the desires of our heart seem so far away.

In the book Heinds' Feet On High Places, Much afraid follows the promise of the Good Shepherd that when she reaches the high places she will have Heinds' Feet instead of the cripled ones she has when she starts her journey. Before she leaves on the journey she must have the seed of love planted in her heart. At first she is scared because she's heard love hurts but The Shepherd tells her how happy it is to love. When she is almost at the end of her journey and seems the farthest away from what she's been promised she is told that she must allow that seed and the plant that's grown to be taken out of her heart. She is devestated but she had said to The Shepherd even if He were to take away the very thing He promised her she would allow Him to do this.

I don't know if the situation I am in now is the same or not. I recently received news today that was very hard to hear and my plans to return to the UK have suddenly been frozen. What I had been trusting God to happen suddenly seems very far away. Does this mean I didn't have faith? Does this mean I've done something wrong? And I think it would be very easy to analyse the situation trying to work out the whys and hows...but I don't think it would do any good.

I've been reading through Job this summer with Russell and the timing has been very special. Job went through so much, more than I can even imagine or that's even comparable to any situation I've ever been in or
that I'm in now...yet in the midst of Job and his friends trying to understand what he did wrong and trying to justify the suffering, Job comes out with this amazing statement:

"Though he slay me, yet will I hope in Him" 13:15

I do not think I can compare my circumstances to Job's by any measurement. What I have learned though, is that God is God and though we don't understand why or how in life, He is there, He is faithful, He has a plan and He will see it through. It might not look like what we would choose for ourselves, it might not look appealing in the slightest but I do know that if I trust God I will be more blessed than I can even imagine.

"The Lord blessed the latter part of Job's life more than the first" 42:12

6 comments:

Russ said...

And the father said to his young son, "do you really trust me? If you do, hold out your hand, let me take your small, soft, child-like hand in my older, wrinkled, life-stained hand, and I will guide you home."

"He has made everything beautiful in His time." Ecclesiates 3:11

Steve said...

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."(Romans 8:28, NIV)

I don't know how He'll do it, only that He will. We're standing with you Jenny.

Norma Jean said...

I'm sorry to hear that youre going thru a tough time. It sucks. But I really admire your strength to continue on. Youre a great girl Jenny and a great friend and you only deserve the best. So keep on keepin on and there will be a silver lining to the dark clouds. Love ya.
Norma

Anonymous said...

Most scholars believe that Job was chronologically the first book ever written. That speaks volumes of the faith of Job. God had not revealed himself to Abraham nor delivered Israel and yet Job trusted this God to which he had no knowledge of.

The Will of God does not essentially equivocate happiness nor success, rather it demands obedience.

Anonymous said...

Hey Jenny,
I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch at the moment. Remeber this though, we may not know what the big guy upstairs is planning but we do know that they are good plans even if with our myopic vision we can't see them.
Jeremiah 29:11
I'll email you something one of the ladys at church sent me that you might find encouraging.
God bless you and inspire you
Keri
xxx

Courtney said...

Who is this guy Russell??